Cleaning Up the Mac’s Printers List

Q.I recently got a new printer for my Mac, but I still see my previous printer (which I got rid of) listed in the options when I go to print. How do I get the old model out of the list?

A. You can remove your former model from the list of available printers in the OS X Print box in your Mac’s System Preferences. To get there, go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences, or click the System Preferences icon in the Mac’s desktop Dock.

In the System Preferences box, click the Printers & Scanners icon; some older versions of OS X have a Print & Scan icon instead. In the list on the side of the window, select the name of the printer you want to remove and click the minus (-) button underneath. In the confirmation box that appears, click Delete Printer.

OS X itself includes drivers for many printers and can update the software from the App Store when needed. If you installed special software yourself to use with the printer and want to remove it from your system, you should check with the printer’s manufacturer for specific instructions. Depending on its maker, your printer may have included its own utility for uninstalling the software or you may have to remove it manually.

Editing Your Netflix Viewing History

Q.How do I prevent certain movies that I’ve watched on Netflix from being listed on the main Netflix screen?

A. You can remove video titles displayed in the Continue Watching or Recently Watched area by logging into your Netflix account online and clicking the link for the Viewing Activity page. In the list of movie and TV show titles, click the “X” next to each one you would like to remove. (Keep in mind, Netflix user profiles specified as “Kids” do not have the option to remove recently viewed videos.)

If you use the Netflix app with your account for watching video on mobile gadgets and TV set-top boxes, it may take up to 24 hours for the titles you deleted from the Viewing Activity page to also disappear from your other gadgets. Because Netflix uses items in your viewing history as part of its formula for suggesting other shows that may appeal to you, it will no longer factor in those deleted titles when recommending similar videos for you to consider in the “Because you watched...” area.